5 SMOOCHES!

SYNOPSIS:

Willa Doon has always been shy. Her quiet demeanor was something she’s always embraced. That is, until Jackson Page moves to town. The one man she desperately wants to take notice struggles to remember her name.

Year after year, Willa stands by, watching as the bartender slash playboy drowns his demons in beer and sex. Then one night, he shows up at her door, suddenly aware that the girl he’s seen around Lark Cove is now a beautiful woman.

Except what he doesn’t remember is that this visit isn’t his first. They spent a night together once before. A night he’s forgotten, thanks to a bottle of tequila.

A night that crushed a timid girl’s heart, and set a broken man on the path to heal them both.

REVIEW:

Devney Perry adds another engrossing, richly developed and layered story to the fabulous Lark Cove series with Timid. Perry’s writing is vibrant and sharp here as she digs deeper into the lives and loves of the citizens of this small Montana town. She has captured the essence of this community, and her portrayal of it through the characters and the setting played out vividly in my mind as I read.

It goes without saying that when there is unrequited love involved, the reader can expect that some angst and a hefty dose of emotion will be involved. Perry dished up both, but she also turned the whole trope on its head here with spectacular results. The town’s shy, girl-in-the-background who had been crushing on the older, playboy bartender gets her moment when he finally notices her—only to be crushed the next day when he has no recollection of their time together. Humiliated, hurt and feeling foolish, she decides to let go of her long-time crush on him. The problem is that he actually has noticed her, and the tables turn with him being the one to do the chasing.

I loved how Willa grew stronger during this time; the shy girl became bold, and it was a sight to behold. She made him work for it, she made him burn for it, and she made him earn it—and for his part, Jackson totally did all of that. His story was quite heartbreaking, and I ached for this hero during his moments of internal dialogue, where the reader is privy to his private thoughts and his struggle to accept and return love. But Willa also gave as good as she got by giving Jackson exactly what he needed–her unwavering support and loyalty, her honesty and understanding, and her boundless love. While not as suspenseful as the first book, there were those elements here, and they added interest and intrigue to the plot and to Jackson’s backstory. Their natural chemistry billowed off the page, and I absolutely loved seeing this sweeter, gentler side of Jackson. But my favorite part of this story was Willa and how far she came from the bashful, quiet wallflower that she once was to the brave, strong woman she became.

Timid wasn’t a simple story about unrequited love, it was about finding true love, in all its forms, whether it be between lovers or family, and learning to accept it. It was about holding on tight when the going gets tough. It was beautiful and poignant and moving, and I loved everything about Willa and Jackson’s tender and sexy love story. Five smooches from me for Timid by Devney Perry!

~Danielle Palumbo

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4 Smooches

Synopsis

When the girl of your dreams is kind of a nightmare.

As head of security to Stage Dive, one of the biggest rock bands in the world, Sam Knowles has plenty of experience dealing with trouble. But spoilt brat Martha Nicholson just might be the worst thing he’s ever encountered. The beautiful troublemaker claims to have reformed, but Sam knows better than to think with what’s in his pants. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to make his heart fall into line.

Martha’s had her sights on the seriously built bodyguard for years. Quiet and conservative, he’s not even remotely her type. So why the hell can’t she get him out of her mind? There’s more to her than the Louboutin wearing party-girl of previous years, however. Maybe it’s time to let him in on that fact and deal with this thing between them.

Review

Another visit with the crew from Stage Dive? Sign me up. This has always been and probably always will be one of my favorite rocker romance series. Each book seemed to get better than the last and honestly, I didn’t realize how much I missed the crew until I read this fun novella.

Strong is definitely a standalone but I think it’s even better if you’ve read the rest since you get the chance to catch up on your favorite characters. I can admit that my memory isn’t the best so I didn’t initially remember who Martha and Sam were but it didn’t take long but me to fall for them. I don’t think you need to read the rest of the series to enjoy their story but I will say that as much as I enjoyed this fun read about these two characters it wasn’t as amazing as the other books. But then again it was a fun novella and not a full-length book so I don’t really hold that against it.

The story was fun, the banter was cute and seeing the gang again was a highlight for me. I had a hard time falling deep for Martha but not every heroine can be my personal perfect heroine so that’s okay. Overall, if you are looking to catch up or want an intro to the series this is a great read.

~miranda

5 SMOOCHES!

SYNOPSIS:

Thea Landry has always known her place in modern-day society. It’s somewhere just above the trash can her mother dumped her in as a newborn but below the class where much comes easy. With her tattered shoes and bargain-bin clothes, her life has never been full of glamour.

So when a rich and charismatic man takes interest, she doesn’t fool herself into thinking their encounter is anything more than a one-night stand. Months later, she’s kicking herself for not getting his phone number. Or his last name. She’s given up hope of seeing him ever again.

Until one day, years later, Logan Kendrick waltzes into her life once more and turns everything she’s built upside down. This time around, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s going to fight to keep him in her life—not for herself.

But for their daughter.

REVIEW:

I may be a little late to the party, but it’s safe to say that I love Devney Perry’s writing style, and I am unquestionably a fan. I’ve been dying to dive into the Lark Cove series, and I had the opportunity to read the first two books this weekend. She crafts such richly developed stories, and the way that she vividly depicts all the little details really brings the setting to life for the reader. She peels the layers back on her characters truly giving the reader the chance to get to know them. There is a suspenseful edge to Perry’s storytelling in her Lark Cove series, and as such, she ties all the components of her writing together through intriguing, engrossing two-pronged plots with a suspense arc that was just as interesting as the romantic arc. She pulled me in right away, and I hung on every word. Her use of intense emotion paired with a realistically portrayed and organically evolving plot made Tattered a story that not only captured my attention immediately but also held it the whole way through.

While not at the very top of my list of favorite tropes, I do enjoy a surprise baby story, and Devney Perry’s Tattered was an excellent one. One of my hang-ups with the surprise baby storyline is that sometimes they can be overly dramatic, with problems where there necessarily wouldn’t be any just for the sake of moving the story along. That certainly was not the case here. Perry wove a complex, layered and moving tale that was real and raw, packed full of feels and punctuated with the difficult choices and sacrifices parents must sometimes make.

Logan and Thea’s story was incredibly believable, which made their reactions and responses all the more authentic. The spark of attraction may have been what initially drew them to each other, but six years later, that chemistry still sizzled. While they were at opposite ends of the spectrum in a lot of ways, this couple, despite those differences, cared deeply for each other, something that was evident in all of their interactions. It was easy for them, and the reader, to see them together, but their real-life situations were getting in the way.

Tattered was so much more than a simple surprise baby story, though. It was about finding love and overcoming whatever obstacles were in the way in order to keep it. It was about sacrificing it all for love, whether it be romantic love or parental. There was definitely some heartache to be endured before getting to the happily ever after, but even so, this was a passionate and sexy love story that left me swooning in my seat. Five stars from me for Tattered by Devney Perry!

~Danielle Palumbo

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5 SMOOCHES!

SYNOPSIS:

Linc has two very important things on his mind—professional football and his motorcycle club.

What he does not have on his mind is the woman that drives him crazy and makes him want to do stupid things, like throw caution to the wind.

Nope, not Linc.

At least, that’s the lie he tells everyone.

In reality, every time Conleigh’s name is mentioned, he squirms.

She’s everything that he wants, wrapped up in a cute little package that is stamped ‘hands freakin’ off.’

She’s four years younger than him, in school to be a doctor, and thinks football is stupid.

Even more, Linc and Conleigh get along like oil and water.

There’s not a single second that they’re in each other’s presence that they’re not at each other’s throats.

But all it takes is hearing that she’s in trouble for Linc to drop every single thing—football and MC duties alike—and head to her side.

A side that he’ll remain at until they either kill each other, or finally give into the heat between them.

Either way you look at it, he’s well and truly screwed.

REVIEW:

Talkin’ Trash is the second book in the Bear Bottom Guardians MC series by Lani Lynn Vale. Like a majority of Lani’s other books, this one stems from another series. This series isn’t necessarily a spin-off of the Heroes of the Dixie Wardens series, it’s more like an expansion on that series. But with each new book Lani releases, she builds upon those worlds, further developing her characters, and the result for her readers has been a very distinct, unique-to-Lani reading experience. What’s most impressive, though, is that she’s managed to craft her stories in such a way that new readers can start up at any point, and they’ll be able to ease in from that series onward.

The first book in the series, Mess Me Up, was a gut-wrenching and emotional story, and while Talkin’ Trash definitely packed in the feels, it definitely wasn’t a heart-breaking storyline. Vale puts her own spin on a teenage crush coming to life several down the road in this book. With one of her creative suspense plots playing out in the background, Lani gives Conleigh and Linc a sexy romance peppered with plenty of her own brand of humor. Entertaining, amusing and totally engrossing, Vale’s writing never fails to captivate me and hold my attention as I devour her words. Another great story in another winning series from Vale has left me longing for the next book. Five smooches from me for Talkin’ Trash by Lani Lynn Vale!

~Danielle Palumbo

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5 Smooches

Synopsis

I have two rules in life:
1. No relationships, falling in love or attachments.
2. No sleeping with clients of my interior design firm.

Since the last guy turned out to be married, they’ve been easy to follow.

Until him.

Callum Huxley is a ridiculously sexy Brit, and the connection we have the moment our eyes lock scares the ever-loving hell out of me. Thank God I came to my senses before going back to his hotel where I would’ve ended up naked, panting, and unable to forget him.

Thinking I walked away from that night unscathed was stupid. Sure enough, at the biggest meeting of my career waits the CEO of Dovetail Enterprises—him. It might be the most embarrassing moment of my professional life. And breaking my no-client rule might just be the hottest moment of my personal life.

Learning to trust has never felt so good, but falling has never hurt so bad.

Review

As a longtime fan of the author and the series, I was excited for this new standalone. Especially because Nicole is one of my favorite times of heroines. She full of sass and life. I love her energy and her willingness to always speak up. As the owner of a design firm, she has some strict rules she follows one of the most important ones is not sleeping with clients.

Enter Callum, the sexy brit dead set on her. Their pull to each other is undeniable and it’s making sticking to her rules almost impossible. I loved Callum, he was everything I look for in a book boyfriend.

Overall, the angst in this book wasn’t as high as some others of the authors but I think that’s been fairly true to the series the whole way through. Still, this was a great book to help pull me out of my reading slump. It was fun, sexy, and with characters I really to keep on reading about. Grab this one now.

~miranda